Cancer forces Tasmanian devils to breed earlier

Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press Yahoo News 15 Jul 08;

The little devils just can't wait. Faced with an epidemic of cancer that cuts their lives short, Tasmanian devils have begun breeding at younger ages, according to researchers at the University of Tasmania in Australia.

"We could be seeing evolution occurring before our eyes. Watch this space!" says zoologist Menna Jones of the university.

Tasmanian devils live on the island of Tasmania, south of Australia. They weigh 20 to 30 pounds and were named devils by early European settlers because the furry black marsupials produce a fierce screech and can be bad-tempered.

Since 1996 a contagious form of cancer called devil facial tumor disease has been infecting these animals and is invariably fatal, causing death between the ages of 2 and 3.

In the past devils would live five to six years, breeding at ages two, three and four, but with the new disease, even females who breed at two may not live long enough to rear their first litter.

Jones, who has been studying the animals' life cycles since before the disease outbreak, noted that there has been a 16-fold increase in breeding at age one. She reports her findings in this week's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"What we are suggesting in this paper is that there is likely to be strong selection for rapid evolution" toward early maturity, Jones said in an interview via e-mail.

"It was an exciting discovery," she added.

The disease could cause the devils to become extinct in 25 years or so, she said, but this change to younger breeding may slow population decline and reduce the chance of them disappearing.

"To our knowledge, this is the first known case of infectious disease leading to increased early reproduction in a mammal," Jones and her colleagues report.

Meantime, the search for a vaccine continues.

The research was funded by the Australian Research Council, the Australian National University and the Tasmanian Government Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.

Tasmanian Devils Fight Cancer with Sex
Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience.com Yahoo News 14 Jul 08;

Tasmanian devils have for some years been plagued with a mysterious and lethal cancer. Now, the dog-sized mammals are fighting back: They are breeding at younger ages.

Devils are furry marsupials, mammals that have no true placentas - females usually have pouches to carry and suckle newborns. They reside only on the island of Tasmania, though fossil evidence suggests that long ago Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) were spread across the Australian mainland. Devils are known for their offensive odor, disturbing screeches and viciousness when they eat, mostly carrion.

Hunters considered the devils pests to livestock and took a toll on the population in the mid-1800s. Now the devil facial tumor disease is killing the animals within a year of reaching maturity. The infectious cancer is spread directly through biting. The tumors mainly affect adults at least 2 years old, causing death within months.

Menna Jones of the University of Tasmania and colleagues examined data collected before and after the arrival of the disease from five Tasmanian devil populations on the island.

A much higher proportion of older adults, over the age of 3, were present in the populations before the disease appeared.

After disease emergence, precocial breeding by 1-year-old females increased dramatically at four sites, increasing from between zero and 12.5 percent beforehand to between 13 percent and 83 percent after. The range in percentages reflects the different findings at each of the sites on the island.

Reduced population density and reduced competition for food could be behind any growth spurts that would allow juveniles to reproduce before their time, the researchers suggest.

Symptoms of the disease, including cancerous lesions around the mouth, face and neck, were first reported in 1996 at one spot on Tasmania. By 2007, the disease had spread over more than half of the devils' home range there. Some populations have lost up to 89 percent of their members as a result of the facial tumors.

The newly discovered precocial breeding could help to keep the species from vanishing, the researchers speculate.

The study, reported this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was funded by the Australian Research Council, the Australian National University Faculties Research Grants Scheme, and the Tasmanian Government Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.

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Big business shows politicians how the planet can be saved

David King, The Observer 13 Jul 08;

As governments haver over the best ways to tackle global warming, private enterprise is forging ahead - and making money

Last week, I shared dinner with some of the most powerful men and women in the world. It was a gathering of chairmen and CEOs of major European and global companies, titans from the energy, mining and retail sectors, all there to discuss the greatest challenge facing civilisation - climate change. Almost as one, they spoke of the need for governments to take action to reverse global warming and for the carbon to be taken out of the world economy.

For most people faced with images of oil sands being dug up in Canada or reserves in the Arctic being exploited, this might seem remarkable. We are used to hearing groups such as Greenpeace berate big energy, yet the truth is that it's now governments who are lagging behind both public and business opinion. Examples of good corporate behaviour are everywhere. Once derided as 'socially responsible', measures to run cleaner businesses are leading to improved profit margins.

You can see why the titans like it when you check the bottom lines. BP introduced a system some years ago which led to cutbacks in energy consumption that now save the company an estimated $230m a year. DuPont, once labelled by Greenpeace as 'number one polluter', initially responded by stating its aspiration to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 5 per cent, a target it then failed to meet for three successive years. So it introduced a system of awards and rewards within the company. The result was a 72 per cent reduction in emissions over 15 years. The system is now fully embedded in its operation. Big business has reached a tipping point. What was clear from the dinner is that rising oil, gas and coal prices will accelerate such changes and will help, if you'll excuse the phrase, to 'decarbonise the economy'.

Meanwhile what have governments been doing? At the G8 summit in Japan last week, the most powerful heads of state agreed to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2050, a date noticeably far in the future, though that is something, at least. Since the UK government first placed climate change at the top of the G8 agenda, in Gleneagles in 2005, there have been continuous battles in the negotiation of agreed statements, with the US consistently putting red lines through any realistic commitment on future emissions. Now, the US President has made a promise. At the very least, a signal to negotiators working behind the scenes towards the all-important successor to Kyoto in Copenhagen in December 2009 is clear.

Beyond that, the evidence of government action is less heartening. Stung by the concerns of voters about petrol, governments around the world have argued for an increase in fossil fuel supplies. In Britain, calls for another runway at Heathrow have received a positive response from the government, despite the opposition of every mayoral candidate in the recent election. In effect, Labour ministers have been working in opposition to what is necessary for the public good, while eschewing obvious levers available to them to reduce the demand for fossil fuels.

Where are the imaginative ideas for improved rail and public road transport, the implementation of energy-efficiency measures for homes and buildings? Better still, the government, and the agencies it supports, should be taking the lead. What about, for example, capping CO2 emissions for those very departments, with their achievements published on an annual basis? Rather than sending civil servants all over the country, and other countries, the government could increase the use of teleconferencing facilities, cutting the cost of travel both to us, the taxpayers, and the world around us.

The biggest test of governments' commitment to reducing carbon will come with the economic downturn. There will be huge pressure to nurse our economies back to good health. That is not only proper, but essential to manage the growing impact of climate change. As the world's population climbs from 6.8 billion today to nine billion by mid-century, energy demand will rise by around 50 per cent, much of it from rapidly emerging powers such as China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Rising sea levels, changing rainfall patterns, competitive demands for scarce resources with a growing global population and rising temperatures will all require investment to manage the risks. Our obligation to countries unable to manage these impacts will create further demands.

We need to work with businesses committed to changing. We need to put a price on emitting carbon dioxide which is high enough to make alternative technologies economic for business, not only for energy production and transmission, but also for energy efficiencies in transport, in buildings, in urban design, in food production, in fresh-water production, in mining, in recycling and in manufacture.

There are ways to do this, but it isn't a single global tax on carbon. Who would be the global tax collector? No, we must accept differing trajectories for carbon emissions by different nations. For advanced economies, emissions must fall by 70 to 80 per cent by 2050, while for developing economies, such as India, the trajectory could be allowed to rise first and then fall. Alongside this, trading in carbon emissions must be encouraged between nations, mimicking what happens among companies. That would be a long-term commitment that would give confidence to the market. We already do this in the EU. The market is worth about €55bn. A tonne of carbon dioxide is now €28. Make this €50 and suddenly changes will transform the continent.

The lesson is that businesses see a market opening up. There are opportunities here for innovation and wealth creation. The pollution that occurred in major cities throughout the world has been controlled by progressive regulations. At first there was fury. Then industry responded by producing the efficient catalyst and trap-exhaust systems that have transformed our cities and our health, while also creating cash for the innovators. With the consumer demanding cleaner goods and the private sector and scientific community innovating solutions, all that's needed is legislators to drive it along.

Here's another idea. Despite their difficulties, all the major banks understand the opportunity presented by this new tradable commodity. Perhaps the government needs to ask Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, to commit to reducing CO2 emissions, just as he is responsible for controlling inflation. The Bank would be more capable of achieving this than the Committee on Climate Change being set up in Parliament.

We need to foster a greater sense of political leadership. There is a widespread hope for better environmental leadership from the US, but this is also true of the rapidly emerging economies. The impacts of climate change on the people of the more vulnerable states is likely to be disastrous over the second half of this century. The governments of China, Brazil and South Africa seem to recognise this.

We in the advanced economies are largely responsible for the extent of the problem. Leadership from all countries in the negotiations leading up to Copenhagen is essential. For it will be in Copenhagen that a workable plan must be delivered to meet the biggest challenge civilisation has ever faced.

· Sir David King, formerly chief scientific adviser to the government, is director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University and senior science adviser to UBS

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Ocean floor could store century of US carbon emissions

Alok Jha, The Guardian 14 Jul 08;

A century's worth of future carbon dioxide emissions from the US could be stored securely in a layer of undersea rocks within easy reach of the west coast of the continent, according to a new study.

The Juan de Fuca plate, which comprises the ocean floor a few hundred kilometres from the coasts of Washington and Oregon, contains layers of basalt that geologists think might be suitable for long-term sequestration of CO2 as part of a carbon capture and storage (CCS) system.

CCS is a set of technologies to trap, transport and bury the carbon dioxide from power stations and factories in underground locations such as abandoned oil fields or deep aquifers.

Estimates suggest the technique could prevent up to 90% of the greenhouse gas emissions from major emitters being locked away, so preventing global warming.

But "the effectiveness of these methods for CO2 sequestration depends strongly on the reservoir capacity, retention time, stability, and risk for leakage," notes David Goldberg of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York, in the latest edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Using data from previous geological surveys and drilling studies, Goldberg led a team that estimated there was an area of 78,000 km2 of suitable undersea aquifers on the Juan de Fuca plate.

The team said that the basaltic geology of the Juan de Fuca plate meant that two methods could be used to store CO2 in the long term: physical trapping and geochemical trapping. The first involves burying the gas under layers of rock that have low or zero permeability: this means the gas is physically blocked from bubbling back to the surface. The second method, also known as mineral trapping, involves CO2 reacting with the rocks into which it is injected to make stable, solid minerals such as carbonates.

Goldberg's criteria for suitable burial sites included the aquifers being under at least 2,700m of water and covered by 200m or more of sediment. At this deep level CO2 liquifies and is denser than sea water, so even if a leak were possible, it should not rise to the surface.

The region identified could potentially store around 208bn tonnes of liquefied CO2, the researchers said, a figure that could rise to 250bn tonnes depending on how much of the gas reacted with the rocks to form carbonates.

At the current annual emission rate of 1.7bn tonnes of carbon a year by the US, the researchers estimated that the Juan de Fuca plate would provide sufficient capacity for 122–147 years.

Andy Chadwick, team leader for CO2 storage research at the British Geological Survey, said that, though the basalt that makes up the Juan de Fuca plate was technically suitable for storing carbon dioxide, there were several unknowns that needed investigation before scientists could conclude it was a secure place for CO2 storage.

He said that, for example, Goldberg's team was relying on finding fractures in the basalt to physically pump in and store the CO2. "These fractures they're depending on for the storage capacity may also be connected to the surface or the seabed and would provide leakage pathways," said Chadwick.

It would be technically very difficult to analyse the basalt in sufficient detail to find all the fractures and ensure they were secure. For now, he said, depleted oil and gas fields were a better option for CCS systems. "They are the easiest targets because they are well-characterised and we know they are good geological fields.

"The only problems are they have lots of wells made through them and it's the man-made wells that would provide the greatest hazards of leakage. But they are certainly preferable at the moment to putting CO2 into basalt."

Goldberg himself notes that, even if further study confirms the Juan de Fuca plate as a suitable location for storing carbon, challenges remain in establishing the necessary infrastructure. Pipelines would be needed to transport the CO2, they would need to be maintained and monitoring systems would need to watch for leakages – all of which remains to be costed.

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Seas Striped With Newfound Currents

Brendan Borrell, LiveScience.com Yahoo News 14 Jul 08;

Sailors and scientists have been mapping ocean currents for centuries, but it turns out they've missed something big. How big? The entire ocean is striped with 100-mile-wide bands of slow-moving water that extend right down to the seafloor, according to a recent study.

Nikolai A. Maximenko of the University of Hawaii at Manoa and colleagues developed a precise new method for measuring the topography of the ocean surface by combining data from satellites and from the movements of more than 10,000 drifting oceanographic buoys.

In doing so, the team generated detailed maps, in which they first noticed the peculiar striations. Some scientists initially dismissed the stripes as statistical artifacts, but Maximenko's team dug deeper, looking for a similar pattern in water temperature measurements from two test areas in the Pacific.

Indeed, though barely detectable, the striated currents are real.

They flow past each other in opposing directions at 130 feet per hour-just one-tenth to one-hundredth the speed of major ocean currents-and subtle changes in temperature demarcate their boundaries.

Maximenko says a new computer model has corroborated some features of the observed striations, but his team is still mystified by their orientation, location, and strength. The discovery is important, he says, because even weak currents can have large effects on global climate and on the flow of food and creatures in the oceans.

The research was detailed recently in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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Best of our wild blogs: 14 Jul 08

Come join the Lim Chu Kang mangrove cleaup 19 Jul (Sat)
more details on joining this effort on the habitatnews blog

Another Cyrene first record?
on the wildfilms blog

Sharing Chek Jawa with SLA
on the adventures with the naked hermit crabs

Ubin Discoveries
delightful insights including FREE durian on the pulau ubin tour with justin blog

A shore of shells and stars
on the budak blog and a shore to bee

The lost islands of the Singapore River
on the Singapore's Heritage, Museums & Nostalgia Blog

Seagrass monitoring at Labrador
on the labrador blog

Branded Imperial
on the butterflies of singapore blog

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Going green: It’s the attitude that counts

Sheralyn Tay, Today Online 14 Jul 08;

WHEN it comes to green issues, legislation can only go so far. Attitudes too are just as, if not more crucial.

Speaking at a public forum yesterday, Environment Challenge Organisation (Singapore) founder and president Wilson Angrecognised that while green policies here can be enhanced, individuals must take ownership for the environment.

Addressing a comment about the effectiveness of legislation, Mr Ang said: “Legislation is a short term solution to problems and is very top-down.”

While regulations can have an impact, any changes in political agenda, for instance, can cause momentum to flounder, he said.

“We have a National Recycling Programme, where there is one recycling bin every few blocks. Yes, it can be improved, but our attitudes are more important. We cannot rely on the Government for everything,” he said.

Similarly, “experts” are not the only ones who can make a difference in the environmental stakes.

Another speaker at the forum organised by the Workers’ Party Youth Wing said the “misconception” is that one has to be qualified or an activist to speak on the environment.

But, by speaking in accessible terms, one can bring the message across, said Mr Nathaniel Koh, 24. For example, to cut down on the use of plastic straws, he told his parents how drinks taste better without using them because the flavours come into contact with more of the taste buds.

“(One) does not need to know the intricacies of a problem (to make a difference),” said the Singapore Management University student. What it takes, he said, is to speak to people in their own terms and language.

Mr Ang told about 20 people at the forum: “It’s not about being a ‘greenie’ but to think of yourself as a global citizen — and part of an environment that supports you.” Ultimately, he said, “think of it not just as saving the environment, but saving yourself.”

Yesterday’s “YouthQuake” was the third in a series of four public forums. The final instalment will be held next month.

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Probe into sellers of Amazonian giant fish

Carnivorous fish can inflict nasty bites; threaten ecology and wildlife in reservoirs
Hong Xinyi, Straits Times 14 Jul 08;

SIX aquariums recently caught trying to sell an Amazonian giant fish are being investigated, said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

The carnivorous arapaima, which can grow to 4m long and weigh 200kg, is not allowed for sale here because it can inflict a nasty bite and could become a serious menace if released into reservoirs.
Enforcement action is being taken against these shops, said the AVA. If convicted, the shop owners can be fined up to $5,000.

While arapaimas cannot be sold here, enthusiasts can import them for private collections, provided pet owners get the fish microchipped so the authorities can keep track of them.

Owners must also prove to the AVA that they have ponds large enough to house these giants - one of the world's largest fresh-water fish.

Fish-store owner Benjamin Wee said this breed, which costs between $150 and $6,000, depending on size, is a favourite of rich businessmen.

He knows of several who keep them in man-made ponds within their bungalow compounds. 'They like big fish the way they like big cars,' he said.

At Sheng Hong Temple in Pandan Gardens, arapaimas have been kept in a fenced courtyard pond for a decade.

Said temple chairman Soo Poh Cheng: 'We started rearing them because they look very elegant.'

Fish farms here rear arapaimas for export, since they are not allowed to distribute them to pet shops here.

At Mainland Fish Farm in Pasir Ris, the majestic fish with brilliant orange markings have been reared for more than 20 years, but they are only for display purposes, said owner Desmond Yeoh.

They are fed deformed fish that cannot be sold. Bags of frozen fish are also sold to visitors so they can feed the arapaimas.

The creatures are also popular attractions at Sentosa's Underwater World and the Singapore Zoo. A reader, writing on The Straits Times' interactive website Stomp, expressed concern about pet owners who said they were rearing these freshwater fish in small tanks.

When they get too big to handle, the worry is that irresponsible owners who can no longer care for a massive, expensive pet will release them in local waters, where they could pose a serious threat to ecology and wildlife.

National water agency PUB said arapaimas have not been seen in reservoirs here so far, but experts have warned that dangerous aliens in local waters could include stingrays and electric eels.

Restrictions

Banned for sale at local pet shops:

# Any venomous fish, such as the marine cat fish, lion fish and stone fish.

# Fish with spines, other sharp appendages or teeth that can cause injury, such as the scorpion fish, piranha and moray eel.

# Fish that have a large territorial range in their natural habitat, such as sharks, dogfish and stingrays.

Fish that need to be microchipped:

# Arapaimas and dragon fish (arowana) as shown below.

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First certified Open Water Diving Course for people with disabilities launched

Valarie Tan & Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia 13 Jul 08;

SINGAPORE: Four Singaporeans have become the country's first group of people with disabilities to attempt scuba diving.

One might not be able to tell at once that they are people with special needs, especially since they seem to have taken to diving like fishes to water.

"It's something I've always wanted to do. Under the sea, I felt the freedom, just (like) an able-bodied, because everyone is equal under the sea," said Choo Poh Choon, a physically disabled diving student.

These individuals, who are from groups like the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped and the Association for the Deaf, prefer to be known as "handi-capable" individuals and are training for their PADI Open Water certification.

"I feel empowered, enriched and educated as well," added Jeffrey Soh, a visually handicapped student.

"It applies to my family members as well, because now they understand that being visually handicapped doesn't mean you're limited. You still can do things as what other people can do," he said.

Their diving course is part of an effort to encourage more people with disabilities to engage in sports and recreational activities.

In a separate charity drive, entitled "A Nation in Concert", to be staged at the Victoria Theatre on October 11 & 12, over 100 people with disabilities will take to the stage alongside several other professional volunteer artistes.

The concert seeks to provide a platform for all people to showcase their talents and abilities.

Proceeds from ticket sales will be channelled to four beneficiaries - the Handicaps Welfare Association, the Association for Persons with Special Needs, the Singapore Association for the Deaf and the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped.
- CNA/os

Diving lessons for disabled performers
Four learn to scuba-dive to prepare for marine-themed charity musical
Grace Chua, Straits Times 14 Jul 08;

THIS year, Mr Choo Poh Choon is learning to scuba-dive.

But unlike most underwater aficionados, the 27-year-old has spent the past seven years in a wheelchair - the result of an accident during national service which left him paralysed from the waist down.

'When my parents heard I was going to dive, they said: 'Are you sure?'

'But they're not surprised any more after all the things I've done,' said Mr Choo, who has also tried his hand at basketball and tennis.

He is working towards his Padi Open Water dive certificate along with three other disabled Singaporeans. Each has a different disability: Geeta Varatharaja, 22, is partially deaf, 21-year-old Jeffrey Soh is partially blind, while Hay Qing Hui, 16, is a special-needs student.

Meanwhile, the four will be taking part in a marine-themed charity musical called A Nation In Concert, scheduled for October.

'We wanted to give them the experience of being in the ocean, so that they'll be able to express it better when they perform,' said concert organiser Alvin Lim.

The musical, which will be held at Victoria Theatre in October, features more than a hundred disabled performers alongside able-bodied professional artists like Timothy Nga and Pierre Goh. Tickets will go on sale next month.

The concert benefits four charities: Handicaps Welfare Association, the Association for Persons with Special Needs, the Singapore Association for the Deaf and the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped. A Nation In Concert performances were also held in 2005 and 2006.

Scuba classes for the disabled performers are being conducted by dive centre Ocean Ambassador, which is also sponsoring their gear.

International diving association Padi said on its website that people with physical challenges regularly earn the Open Water certificate. The four have medical approval to take the course.

'Disabled divers have no fear - they've already gone through the worst time in their life. Diving is just another challenge for them to overcome their physical limits,' said Ocean Ambassador academic director Eugene Yeo.

For Mr Choo, scuba-diving also pushes the boundaries on social limits.

'In the water, I feel like a normal person. Everyone is equal and I don't need a wheelchair,' he said.

Disabled Singaporeans go underwater for charity
SCUBA DIVING? NO PROBLEM
Tay Shi'an, New Paper 14 Jul 08;

HE IS paralysed from the waist down. But Mr Choo Poh Choon, 27, always had a dream to scuba dive.

He went to several dive operators, but they all refused to take him.

So when he heard about a chance for handicapped people to dive, he didn't need to think twice.

Mr Choo is one of four Singaporeans with four different disabilities who are now working towards getting their Padi open water dive certification.

The others are Ms Geeta Varatharaja, 22, who is deaf, Mr Jeffrey Soh, 21, who is partially blind, and Hay Qing Hui, 16, a special needs student with a low IQ.

They had seen their doctors and were cleared to take the course before they started it.

All four also happen to be participants of a charity performance in October called A Nation In Concert (Anic in short, also the name of the organiser).

It was while preparing for the show that they were roped into the diving course.

The show's volunteer organiser, Mr Alvin Lim, 30, said: "When I watched them perform, I realised that they have so much they could achieve. So why should we focus on their limitations?

"I have dived for 12 years and I want them to have the same experience as anyone else."

So, he approached Ocean Ambassador Dive Centre, which will be absorbing the cost of the instructors, pool classes and gear rental.

The other costs, such as the boat rental and lodging at Pulau Tioman, will be borne by Anic. This means the participants won't have to pay a cent.

An open water course in the market typically costs between $400 and $700.

Through this, Mr Lim hopes to encourage more people with disabilities to engage in sports as recreational activities.

For Mr Soh, an undergrad at Singapore Management University, the diving course is a chance for him to gain new experiences despite his new disability – he lost his sight only last year, after complications from the eye disease glaucoma.

He now suffers from tunnel vision, meaning he has no peripheral vision and can only see the 15 per cent of his field of vision in the centre. "Imagine walking around with binoculars, but with no lenses," he said.

ENCOURAGEMENT

When he told his friends about the diving course, their response was: "Good for you."

He said: "My parents are worried, but I think they understand. I can take care of myself.

"This is something I have always wanted to do even before I went blind."

His doctor said that while his eyesight has stabilised and he is unlikely to lose more sight, there is still a possibility that he might.

Mr Soh said: "By then, at least I can remember what the water looks like."

Among the four, Mr Soh and Ms Varatharaja have snorkelling experience.

Mr Choo, an IT consultant, takes part in various wheelchair sports such as tennis and basketball, and was part of the team that came in third in the Asean Wheelchair Basketball Championship in 2003.

Qing Hui, 16, is an athlete – he took part in the Special Olympics in Shanghai last year, where he came in first in the 4x400m relay and fourth in the 400m and 800m. He also inline-skates.

He is most looking forward to seeing starfish and wrecks during the dives.

His father, Mr David Hay, 45, a technical support officer, said with pride: "It doesn't mean that if they have low IQ, they cannot learn. If you give them a chance, they can."

He said he was not worried about his son going diving. "What's most important is that he is interested and there is an opportunity."

The four participants have already gone through the theory stage. They will be having their first pool session today, and if they do well, they will go to Pulau Tioman for open water dives, scheduled for the end of next month.

Ocean Ambassador's owner, Mr Eugene Yeo, 27, said he will be providing four dive masters – one for each participant – and two instructors, including himself, for the course.

That is two to three times the usual number of trainers. Other special arrangements include choosing a resort that is wheelchair-accessible, providing hand fins for Mr Choo, and special briefing methods for Ms Varatharaja.

Mr Yeo said: "There are not many people around doing this. It's a lot of work and it's not easy.

"But I don't see a reason why not. If they want to go diving, if they're willing to learn, I'm willing to teach them."

OTHER COUNTRIES

Diving for the disabled has been established for decades in other countries.

Organisations such as the Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA) in the US, and the Netherlands-based International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD) even provide their own dive certification programmes for the disabled and for instructors for the handicapped.

A check with HSA showed only one instructor and five disabled divers from Singapore have gone through their programmes, back in 1996 and 1997.

IAHD said six Singapore instructors have been trained to date. Four of them are under the same local dive operator, Dive Atlantis.

One of the most famous disabled divers in the world is Mr Carl Brashear, an amputee who made history in 1970 when he became the first black master diver in the US Navy. His life was made into the movie Men of Honor, starring Cuba Gooding Jr and Robert De Niro.

A Nation In Concert 2008 will be staged at the Victoria Theatre on 11 and 12 Oct.

More than a hundred volunteers from the Association for Persons with Special Needs, Handicap Welfare Association, Singapore Association for the Deaf, Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped and Spaces Community, as well as volunteer guest artistes will star in the show, which has a marine musical theme.

Net proceeds will go to the participating charities. Tickets will be available soon through Sistic. Prices range from $30 to $45.

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No lack of natural gas for Singapore

Straits Times 14 Jul 08;

SINGAPORE will not have a shortage of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for many years, given its long-term contracts with Indonesia and Malaysia, said Foreign Minister George Yeo yesterday.

And for the long haul, there is also the upcoming LNG terminal.

Mr Yeo was responding to media queries on how political instability in neighbouring countries would affect Singapore's natural gas supply.

He was speaking at a community event in Hougang Stadium to promote social harmony, which was attended by about 2,000 residents from Aljunied and Hougang.

The billion-dollar LNG terminal will be ready to supply a third of the country's gas demand by 2012.

At yesterday's event, which included a walk, telematches and performances, Mr Yeo also touched on the Youth Olympic Games that Singapore is hosting in 2010, which he said would have grassroots' support.

'There are many things that need to be done, from critical infrastructure to systems management to security, to making sure we have enough guides, hosts and hostesses,' he said.

Representatives such as community leaders, schoolchildren and undergraduates would be mobilised to help in the national effort, he added.

LIAW WY-CIN

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Indian group plans to light up 1.6b lives with solar lanterns

It will provide solar lanterns to rural poor, starting with those in India
P. Jayaram, Straits Times 14 Jul 08;

NEW DELHI - AN INDIAN energy research institute has launched a plan to bring light to 1.6 billion rural people worldwide with low-cost solar lanterns.

The plan, which would help mitigate carbon emissions and the threat of climate change, will cover - besides India and Africa - less developed South-east Asian countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, said Dr R.K. Pachauri, chairman of The Energy Research and Resources Institute (Teri).

'Rural Indonesia will also be covered under the plan, but we want to implement it first in India,' said Dr Pachauri, who is also head of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize with ex-US vice-president and leading environmental activist Al Gore.

Of the 1.6 billion people in the world without access to electricity, 25 per cent, or 400 million in more than 76 million households, are in India, according to figures released by Teri.

Of these 76 million households, 65 million use kerosene for lighting purposes, consuming an average of 3 litres a month, or 2.4 billion litres per year, and emitting an estimated 5.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, the organisation said.

The solar lanterns are similar in shape to traditional kerosene lanterns used in Indian villages, and cost 3,600 rupees (S$113) each.

The lanterns consist of a solar-charged battery, compact fluorescent light bulb and light-emitting diode bulb for evening and overnight lighting, respectively.

Dr Pachauri said that because many rural people would find the price of these lanterns beyond their reach, they could instead rent them at a cost of 2 rupees to 3 rupees a day - the same amount that a village household spends on kerosene.

Teri has already lit up non-electrified villages in seven states across India with these lanterns.

'To provide solar lanterns to the 65 million rural households now dependent on kerosene for lighting, an outlay of between 208 billion rupees and 234 billion rupees would be required, which is half the total government subsidised kerosene consumed in India annually,' he told a press conference.

'Thus, with this amount, we can provide a sustainable means to provide clean lighting to all those people who lack it, instead of keeping them dependent on a subsidy.'

A recent study noted that a third of the subsidised kerosene, which the government regularly spares from fuel price increases, is being diverted to the black market, or has been adulterated.

'In addition, the solar lanterns will mitigate the 5.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted from kerosene lanterns,' Dr Pachauri said.

The solar lanterns will also provide better illumination and eliminate the health problems associated with kerosene lanterns, such as pulmonary diseases and poor eyesight.

According to him, the campaign to 'Light One Billion Lives' would require a total of 200 million solar lanterns, and this can only be accomplished with local government and international support.

Dr Pachauri said during a recent visit to the United States that the mayors of New York and Chicago have promised to support the lighting of some villages.

pjay@sph.com.sg

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Kenya court halts $370m sugar, biofuels project

Daniel Wallis, Reuters 13 Jul 08;

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A Kenyan court has temporarily halted a $370 million sugar and biofuels project in a coastal wetland that conservation groups warned would threaten wildlife and local livelihoods.

The government and the country's biggest sugar miller, Mumias, wants to plant cane on 20,000 hectares in the Tana River Delta to create jobs and plug an annual 200,000-tonne sugar deficit.

But the Malindi High Court ruled on Friday that environmentalists and groups representing local livestock keepers could apply for a judicial review, according to a copy of the order seen by Reuters on Sunday.

"This decision will make supporters of the project reflect on some of the issues raised at the public hearings," said Steve Itela, director of Kenyan campaigners Youth for Conservation.

"This should never have needed to go to court."

Kenya's National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) cleared the project last month. But it has run into fierce opposition from activists who say it threatens 350 species including birds, lions, elephants, rare sharks and reptiles.

They accuse NEMA of ignoring a study showing irrigation in the area would cause severe drainage of the Delta, leaving local farmers without water for their herds during dry seasons.

Mumias, which owns 51 percent of the Tana Delta project, hopes to produce about 23 million liters ethanol -- which is distilled from molasses, a cane by-product -- there each year.

It says it will also generate 34 megawatts of electricity and create some 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, partly through the construction of an 8,000-tonne a day sugar mill.

The government, which has a 30 percent stake, says the project will benefit locals and that it has its full support.

Kenya produced 475,670 tonnes of sugar in 2006, and Mumias projects that it will generate an extra 200,000 tonnes annually from the Delta project.

Mumias chief executive Evans Kidero told Reuters in an interview on Thursday the firm was operating at full capacity again after post-election violence at the start of the year disrupted production and transport.

The company's pre-tax profits for the half-year ending December 2007 surged 38 percent to 564 million shillings ($9.11 million) from 436 million in the same period a year before.

Mumias, which is 20 percent owned by the government, currently produces 300,000 tonnes of sugar a year, 90 percent of it from some 66,000 smallholder farmers.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)

Nobel laureate Maathai warns Kenya over biofuel
Yahoo News 13 Jul 08;

Kenya will regret its failure to protect the environment, Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai said Sunday, as environmentalists battled to halt a government backed biofuels project.

"This country has failed to take environment issues seriously and that is very dangerous for posterity," Maathai told AFP.

"I am sorry that Kenyans are going to regret, in 20 to 30 years to come, why they let their government interfere with the environment, forests and wetlands," she added.

Maathai was speaking two days after a Kenyan court temporarily halted construction of a government-backed project where sugar was to be grown to generate power in coastal wetlands and opposed by environmentalists.

The government has approved the Tana Integrated Sugar Project, a 24-billion-shilling (369.3-million-dollar, 235-million-euro) operation on July 1.

Friday's ruling, from a court in the coastal town of Malindi, temporarily suspended work to allow environmentalists and local communities to apply for judicial review.

Conservationists and local communities have warned that loss of grazing and crops caused by the project would incur serious land damage in the protected area.

Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Nature Kenya also oppose the project, which would cover more than 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of the Tana River Delta, saying it would damage the fragile ecosystem.

But Maathai stressed that it was up to local people and communities to oppose government projects that harmed the environment.

"We cannot just start messing around with the wetland because we need biofuel and sugar," she said.

Maathai won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for her Green Belt Movement which has planted some 30 million trees to counter forest loss and desertification in Africa.

The Tana Integrated Sugar Project aims to mill 8,000 tonnes of sugar cane daily, generating 34 megawatts of electrity and producing 23 million litres of ethanol a year.

Mumias Sugar Company owns 51 percent of the project, to be sited about 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of the port city of Mombasa.

The rest is owned by the state-run Tana and Athi River Development Authorities and local residents.

Demand for biofuels has been blamed as one of the factors contributing to the global food crisis that has sparked riots in many poor nations, including Kenya.

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Forests to fall for food and fuel

Richard Black, BBC News 13 Jul 08;

Demand for land to grow food, fuel crops and wood is set to outstrip supply, leading to the probable destruction of forests, a report warns.

The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) says only half of the extra land needed by 2030 is available without eating into tropical forested areas.

A companion report documents poor progress in reforming land ownership and governance in developing countries.

Both reports will be launched on Monday in UK government offices in London.

Supporters of RRI include the UK's Department of International Development (DfID) and its equivalents in Sweden and Switzerland.

"Arguably, we are on the verge of a last great global land grab," said RRI's Andy White, co-author of the major report, Seeing People through the Trees.

"It will mean more deforestation, more conflict, more carbon emissions, more climate change and less prosperity for everyone."

Rising demand for food, biofuels and wood for paper, building and industry means that 515 million hectares of extra land will be needed for growing crops and trees by 2030, RRI calculates.

But only 200 million hectares will be available without dipping into tropical forests.

Forest focus

The report foresees demand increasing further into the century.

It cites studies suggesting that "...if the current plateau in productivity continues, the amount of additional agricultural land required just to meet the world's projected food demand in 2050 would be about three billion hectares, nearly all of which would be required in developing countries."

According to UN figures, the world currently has about 1.4 billion hectares of arable land and about 3.4 billion hectares of pasture.

Some academics place their hopes in agricultural technologies including genetic engineering to boost crop yields.

But since the spectacular successes of the Green Revolution, advances have been slow. In some areas, yields are falling - a trend which is likely to be exacerbated by climate change.

However, eating into tropical forests to create extra agricultural land would, in turn, exacerbate climate change, with deforestation currently accounting for about 20% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Reform call

One of RRI's key conclusions is that reform of land ownership is crucial, if large-scale pillage of tropical forests is to be avoided.

The conclusion is supported by DfID, whose minister Gareth Thomas will be speaking at the launch event.

"These new studies should strengthen global resolve to protect the property rights of indigenous and local communities who play a vital role in protecting one the most outstanding natural wonders of the world," he said.

DfID runs programmes in West Africa aimed at helping forest dwellers acquire the legal right to manage their land.

"It is clear that the dual crises of fuel and food are attracting significant new investments and great land speculation," said Andy White.

"Only by protecting the rights of the people who live in and around the world's most vulnerable forests can we prevent the devastation these forces will wreak on the poor."

But the second RRI report - From Exclusion to Ownership? - says progress in reforming ownership has been slow, with only a few countries such as Brazil, Cameroon and Tanzania handing over significant tracts to local communities.

Moves to curb climate change by preserving forests in developing countries could help, RRI concludes. But it also raises the question of who owns rights to the trees - the rich Western countries that want to fund carbon sequestration, or the people who live in the forest areas?

Sorting out ownership could not only help on the environmental front, but also remove reasons for conflict. RRI calculates that about two-thirds of the world's current violent conflicts are driven by land tenure issues.

Forest funding 'could put billions in wrong hands'
David Adam, The Guardian 14 Jul 08;

The rush to protect forests as a way to tackle global warming could see billions of pounds handed over to corrupt politicians, criminals and polluting industries, experts have warned.

The Rights and Resources Initiative, a coalition of groups from around the world, says not enough has been done to address land rights in tropical countries, where much of the money is being directed. Without clearer guidelines on land ownership and involvement by local people, they say, the funds provided by rich countries, including Britain, to protect trees could fuel violent conflict and fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Deforestation causes about a fifth of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, and how to protect the huge stocks of carbon locked in tropical forests has become a key issue in the climate change debate. Sir Nicholas Stern, in his 2006 review of the economics of the problem, said that £2.5bn a year could be enough to prevent deforestation across the eight most important countries. Britain and Norway have already pledged £108m to a fund to protect forests in the Congo basin. Rich countries paying tropical regions to protect forests is likely to form part of a new global climate deal to replace the Kyoto protocol, which could be agreed next year.

Stern also said that a series of institutional and policy reforms were needed, including forest property rights. Without such changes, said Andy White, coordinator of the initiative, the money aimed at protecting trees could go to central government officials, many of whom were closely tied to illegal logging and mining activities. He said direct payments to local groups would be more effective, but that required them to be given clear land rights. Evidence from Mexico, Guatemala and Brazil showed that local communities protected the forests better than governments, he said.

White added: "These forests are often in lawless regions with a history of conflict. We have huge concerns about sending all this money in the name of fighting climate change if the land rights for people living there are not resolved. It could cause more violence, benefit only a wealthy elite and lead to even greater carbon emissions.

"We think it would be a terrible mistake to reduce development funding purely to carbon and mitigating climate change. This poses a real dilemma for governments of conscience like the UK. They risk undermining all of their development and human rights work in this area if efforts to protect carbon don't support and strengthen community land rights and organisations."

Two reports from the Rights and Resources Initiative, published today, show that progress on land rights has slowed in recent years. The group says just 27% of developing-country forest is owned by local communities, or designated for their use. It warns that the next two decades could see the remaining forests threatened by the "last great global land grab", with booming demand for land to grow food, biofuels and wood products.

White said more effort was needed to map remote forests and register the people who live there to protect their interests. "We know how to do this. It's not rocket science, it just needs to be scaled up." He praised steps Britain has taken in the Congo basin.

Gareth Thomas, green minister at the Department for International Development, said: "We don't spend money on any project if we can't be certain that the money is going to go where it is needed. But we have to step up work on land-use management, ownership issues and improving governance. We have made quite a lot of progress, but it is not realistic that we can sort out every land use issue by the time of the next climate treaty."

James Heneage, the director of the Prince's Rainforests Project, a group set up by the Prince of Wales to work out a mechanism to fund forest protection, said a focus on land rights risked delaying efforts to protect the climate. He said: "The issue of land rights is important and must be looked at, but it is also an intractable problem and will take time to solve. We are in a state of emergency with climate change and we cannot allow the issue of land rights to delay getting serious amounts of money into forests to stop deforestation."

World's forests 'threatened by food, fuel demands'
Yahoo News 14 Jul 08;

The world's forests will be gobbled up by an escalating demand for fuel and food unless steps are taken to hand the people who live in them greater rights, two reports published here Monday said.

The US-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), an international coalition of forest governance and conservation groups, warned that widespread deforestation would make climate change more severe.

It would also push the billion or so people dependent on forests further into poverty and trigger conflicts, the coalition's reports said.

The international community must work to empower poor forest-dwellers if the loss of forest and its consequences are to be avoided, the RRI concluded.

The world will need a minimum of 515 million more hectares (1.27 billion acres) by 2030, in order to grow food, bio-energy and wood products, said the reports.

This is almost twice the amount of available land and equal to an area 12 times the size of Germany, the RRI said.

"Arguably we are on the verge of a last great global land grab," said RRI co-ordinator Andy White.

"Unless steps are taken, traditional forest owners, and the forests themselves, will be the big losers.

"It will mean more deforestation, more conflict, more carbon emissions, more climate change and less prosperity for everyone."

The RRI found that developing countries' governments claimed an overwhelming majority of forests and had made limited progress in recognising local land rights.

The report said that left open the potential for violence, as some of the world's poorest peoples struggled to hold on to their only asset: the forest land.

The biggest carbon emitters from deforestation, including Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Democratic Republic of Congo should be targeted for investment in land rights reform, the research urged.

"It is clear from the research that the dual crises of fuel and food are attracting significant new investments and great land speculation," White said.

"Only by protecting the rights of the people who live in and around the world's most vulnerable forests can we prevent the devastation these forces will wreak on the poor and the poorly governed hinterlands.

"In the process, our studies have shown that we will protect the forests themselves by recognising the rights of the people with the most to lose if they are destroyed."

The reports' conclusions are supported by Britain's Department for International Development.

"These new studies should strengthen global resolve to protect the property rights of indigenous and local communities who play a vital role in protecting one of the most outstanding natural wonders of the world," said International Development Minister Gareth Thomas.

Population Boom Will Pressure Forests - Reports
PlanetArk 15 Jul 08;

LONDON - Booming demand for food, fuel and wood as the world's population surges from six to nine billion will put unprecedented and unsustainable demand on the world's remaining forests, two new reports said on Monday.


The reports from the US-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) said this massive potential leap in deforestation could add to global warming and put pressure on indigenous forest dwellers that could lead to conflict.

"Arguably we are on the verge of the last great global land grab," said Andy White, co-author of "Seeing People Through the Trees," one of the two reports.

"Unless steps are taken, traditional forest owners, and the forests themselves, will be the big losers. It will mean more deforestation, more conflict, more carbon emissions, more climate change and less prosperity for everyone."

RRI is a global coalition of environmental and conservation non-government organisations with a particular focus on forest protection and management and the rights of forest peoples.

White's report said that unless agricultural productivity rises sharply, new land equivalent in size to 12 Germanys will have to be cultivated for crops to meet food and biofuel demand by 2030.

Virtually all of it is likely to be in developing countries, principally land that is currently forested.

The second report, "From Exclusion to Ownership", noted that governments still claim ownership of most forests in developing countries, but said they had done little to ensure the rights and tenure of forest dwellers.

It said people whose main source of livelihood is the forests were usually the best custodians of the forests and their biodiversity.

RRI said governments were failing to prevent industrial incursions into indigenous lands. Its report noted that cultivation of soy and sugar cane for biofuels in Brazil is expected to require up to 128 million hectares of land by 2020, up from 28 million hectares now, with much of it likely to come from deforestation in the Amazon.

"We face a deficit of democracy plagued by violent conflict and human rights abuses," said Ghanaian civil rights lawyer Kyeretwie Opoku, commenting on the reports.

"We must address underlying inequalities by consulting and allowing forest peoples to make decisions the themselves regarding the actions of industry and conservation," he added. (Reporting by Jeremy Lovell; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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